 
Senate Resolution No. 716
 
BY: Senator MARTUCCI
 
        COMMEMORATING  the  220th  Birthday  of William H.
        Seward, former New York State  Senator,  former  New
        York  State  Governor, former United States Senator,
        former  United  States  Secretary  of   State,   and
        purchaser of Alaska
 
  WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commemorate the
220th  Birthday  of  William  H.  Seward, former New York State Senator,
former New York State Governor, former  United  States  Senator,  former
United States Secretary of State, and purchaser of Alaska; and
 
  WHEREAS,  William Henry Seward was born in Florida, New York, on May
16, 1801, and died in Auburn, New York, on October 12,  1872,  where  he
spent much of his adult life; and
 
  WHEREAS,  William  Henry  Seward  made  a  monumental  impact in the
histories of not only Orange County, but New York State and  the  entire
country,  serving  in  numerous  leadership  capacities such as New York
Senator, New York Governor, United States Senator and Secretary of State
for both the Lincoln and Johnson administrations; and
 
  WHEREAS, Sympathetic to the plights of runaway slaves, William Henry
Seward offered his home in Auburn as a stop on the Underground Railroad,
where he hid slaves on their way to Canada; and
 
  WHEREAS, In 1867, William  Henry  Seward  acquired  Alaska  for  the
United  States  from  Russia;  through  the  years  he  tried in vain to
purchase Hawaii and the Dutch West Indies, as well as build a  canal  in
Panama; all of which came to fruition long after his death; and
 
  WHEREAS,  After  a  failed  presidential  bid in 1860, William Henry
Seward served as President Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State; in this
capacity, he  was  instrumental  in  the  passage  of  the  Emancipation
Proclamation; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Bound  to his roots, William Henry Seward was a vital part
of the S.S. Seward Institute in Florida, New York, a  school  which  his
father founded in 1846; and
 
  WHEREAS,  William  Henry  Seward  will forever be remembered for his
achievements in office, and for his foresight in anticipating the future
needs of the United States; and
 
  WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is pleased to have  this  opportunity
to  express its highest admiration for William Henry Seward, and for all
of the individuals who have worked  to  bring  proper  attention  to  an
individual  and  time  which merits recognition in the grand panorama of
the history of our State and Nation; now, therefore, be it
 
  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
commemorate  the  220th  Birthday  of William H. Seward, former New York
State Senator, former New York  State  Governor,  former  United  States
 
Senator,  former  United  States  Secretary  of  State, and purchaser of
Alaska; and be it further
 
  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Florida Historical Society.
Commemorating the 220th Birthday of William H. Seward

What's Happening

Why It Matters
